How safe are the filmstars?

The shootout outside Shah Rukh Khan?s bungalow has sent shock waves among celebrities, reports Vajir Singh.

The shootout outside Shah Rukh Khan’s bungalow has sent shock waves among celebrities who rely on private security agencies for protection.

While a select few - like Aamir Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Dilip Kumar, Yash Chopra, Mahesh Bhatt, Feroz Nadiadwala and Ram Gopal Varma — receive police protection, most rely on private guards to fend off fans - and fanatics.

HT Image

Interestingly, SRK has police cover when he steps out, but relies on private cover at home.

However, Diwan Rahul Nanda of Tops Grup, the agency that provides guards for SRK’s residence, does not think so. “We continue to provide security at Shah Rukh Khan’s house. Whatever happened was unfortunate, but you can’t blame the company for the actions of an individual.”

Actresses and their guards Bipasha Basu: The actress, who recently faced harassment in the US, had earlier decided not to visit small towns in India after her sour experience in Jaipur for the promotion of Jism. But she still dares it without a bodyguard. Shilpa Shetty: The actress’ mother always accompanies her and she too, shuns bodyguards. And recently, during a visit to Kolkata on a promotion tour, her mother slapped a journalist when the media went berserk. Celina Jaitley: During the shooting of Jawani Diwani in Mauritius, Celina Jaitley was taken back when a fan harassed her. The incident was enough for the shaken actress to employ a personal bodyguard. Esha Deol: A fan fondled the actress at the premiere of Dus  but the girl with the famed Deol genes slapped the living daylights out of him. Moral of the story? She really doesn’t need any guards to protect her.

Nanda, whose agency till recently provided security to Aishwarya Rai, Amitabh Bachchan and the Deols, adds that security for the building where the Roshans live was also in his charge.

Rakesh Roshan, currently in Nairobi, was unaware of the incident. “We don’t have any personal security. The same concern looks after security in our building but we never had problems.”

Nanda nevertheless does plan a rethink on arming guards. “We will think twice before providing guns to our guards.” Pop singer Mika feels every celebrity has to take care of his own security. “For my shows around the country, I hire 25 guards, besides my personal bodyguard Tiger,” he says, adding, “In the US, I hire security from a Houston firm.”

Most of our stars would agree. Post-Murder, Mallika Sherawat hired professional security guards. And there is Sheru, Salman Khan’s bodyguard. Madhur Bhandarkar, whose police cover was recently lifted, says, “I was given security after threatening calls, but later I asked for it to be lifted.” But there are some exceptions. One such is Aishwarya Rai. “She is an honorary director in the Sahara group and the company provides her security,” says her secretary Hari Singh.

And Preity Zinta. She is seen with her cousin who also doubles up as her bodyguard. Then, of course, there is Ness Wadia.